


he's got something special

by rocketshiptospace



Series: Jimon Week 2017 [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Hannah Montana AU, I wish I was kidding, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 04:19:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9802355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocketshiptospace/pseuds/rocketshiptospace
Summary: “I’m in love,” Simon declares, as he joins his friends at their table in the library.“Groundbreaking news,” Raphael deadpans, “Really, I’m shocked. This is too much. I can’t handle the pure surprise that comes with this revelation. I had never expected this. Next you’re going to tell me you’re in love withJace, of all people. Then my mind will truly be blown.”Or, Simon is in love with Jace. He hates Christian Ozera, a famous singer. It's a lot more complicated than it sounds.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is famously known in the jimon nw as 'jannah montana'. we came up with this fic idea months ago, and i swore i would NEVER write it, and then they convinced me to write this for jimon week anyway, because i'm a push over and also i love them and i would do anything for them. including, apparently, writing weird hannah montana inspired fics verging on the edge of cracky. love, as they say, works in mysterious ways. 
> 
> (written for jimon week day five: music. and yes. the title is from hannah montana's 'he could be the one'. why is this my life.)

“Why did I ever think taking a morning class was a good idea,” Simon complains, as he falls down in the grass next to where his friends are sitting. Raphael only hums noncommittally. Maureen doesn’t even look up from where she’s scrolling through her phone. Clary is the only one who actively responds, by consolingly patting him on the back.

“You ask me that every week, and I still don’t have an answer for you,” she tells him, before turning back to her sketchbook.

Simon sighs, and lies down on the grass. “Literally the only good thing about my Tuesday morning Music Theory class is that Jace is in it. Today, he-”

Raphael groans loudly, interrupting Simon. “God, not this again.”

“ _As I was saying_ ,” Simon continues, pointedly ignoring Raphael, “Today he was wearing a leather jacket, which I’m pretty sure should be illegal. And his _face_ , god, I swear he’s like, unreal. He honestly just can’t be real. He’s too pretty. Only angels can be that pretty. Do you reckon maybe he’s an angel?”

“No,” all his friends inform him at the same time.

“And his _arms_ , oh my god, he has to like, live at the gym to get arms like that,” Simon rattles on, completely oblivious to the complete disinterest of his friends, “And it’s not just that he has an amazing body, which he _does_ , but he’s like, really smart too. You should hear what he has to say, it’s all so well thought out and researched, it’s insane. I think I’m a bit in love, to be honest.”

Raphael snorts and says, “No, really?” at the same time Clary says, “That’s great, honey.” Maureen has gone back to texting.

Simon leans up on his elbows, “I feel like none of you are taking me seriously.”

“Absolutely not,” Raphael informs him. Simon sticks out his tongue at him.

Clary sighs and puts her sketchbook down, “I mean, you have to admit Simon, you do talk about Jace quite a bit. None of what you just told me is in any way new information to me.”

“I’ve got some new information for you,” Maureen pipes up, before Simon can say anything. “Christian Ozera’s new single is coming out next week!” She barrels on, excitedly.  

Simon just groans. “Are you really still into that pretentious douchebag?”

Maureen shrugs, “His songs are nice.”

“Plus, he’s really cute,” Clary says, wiggling her eyebrows.

“He’s a dick, that’s what he is,” Simon says, “With his slimy love songs and his dopey smile, ugh. He’s a disgrace to the music industry. Like, he’s truly the proof that anyone with a pretty face can become famous nowadays. Nothing is about real talent anymore.”

“Ladies and gentlemen it appears we have reached Simon’s second favorite topic of conversation; hating on Christian Ozera,” Raphael says, in a mock announcer voice, “We’ve really gone full circle now, tune in next week for more.”

“You are horrible,” Simon says, pointing at Raphael, “You need to let me know if you can go to band practice on Friday or not,” he adds, pointing to Maureen, “And you,” Clary makes a little bow when Simon’s finger lands on her, “I love you and I see you after class for coffee, yeah?” And with those words, he jumps back on his feet, grabs his back pack, and walks off with one last “Bye!” to his friends.

\--

The next week, during Music Theory, Jace sits down next to Simon and asks if he can borrow a pen. Simon nearly falls out of his seat before hastily offering Jace the one he was holding, only to realize that was the only one he actually _brought_. Oh well, guess he has to do without notes for this class. It is, after all, the first time Jace has spoken to him. Or even acknowledged his existence. It’s not like Simon can focus on this class anyway with Jace sitting _so close_.

He’s just as beautiful up close as he is from afar, which is honestly kind of a problem. Simon can’t stop himself from letting his eyes drift over to Jace every few seconds or so, and he’s scared Jace will eventually catch on to his creepy staring and never ever interact with him ever again. Instead, however, Jace leans over to him halfway through the lecture and whispers, “God, this man is so boring.”

“Uh,” Simon says, wondering if it would be weird if he were to pinch himself in the arm right now, just to check he isn’t dreaming, “Yeah,” he then blurts out and wow. Isn’t that smooth. Fantastic, Lewis. Really. Great job. “I mean, uh, I would try to take a nap but I’m afraid his voice will haunt me in my dreams. Or nightmares, more like it.” Yeah, okay, so maybe he’s not really making it any better.

But Jace still snorts out a laugh, a beautiful, beautiful sound, and says, “Honestly Simon, there are tons of better things to dream about.” And then he winks at Simon before turning back in his seat.

Simon does pinch himself then. Which really hurts. But also confirms that he is _not_ dreaming, and did Jace really just flirt with him? Was that flirting? God, Simon has always been the worst at this. Should he flirt back? What is he even supposed to _say_? This is both the worst and best thing that has ever happened to him.

The rest of the class goes by in a blur, and by the time it’s over, Simon is secretly kind of relieved. He needs to put distance between himself and Jace _right now_ , before he does something stupid to embarrass himself. But before he can makes himself scarce, Jace stops him by grabbing him by his arm. Simon squeaks and flails a little bit, and when he turns to face Jace he can see a small smile playing at his lips.

Jace holds out Simon’s pen, “You forgot this.”

“Thanks,” Simon squeaks out, grabbing the pen and shoving it in his pocket. He seriously hopes this means he can leave now, but Jace is apparently not done with him yet.

“Wanna grab a coffee?” He asks, “As a thank you.”

Simon has fallen into an alternate universe. That is the only logical explanation for what is happening right now. This is some weird alternate universe, and tomorrow he’s going to wake up in his own universe again, and Jace will have no idea who he is, and _definitely_ won’t ask him out for coffee. “Oh,” he eventually stutters out, “Yeah, sure.” It comes out a lot more casual than he actually feels.

“Cool,” Jace says, smile widening, “Let’s go.” He walks out of the lecture hall, and Simon can only stumble after him, still utterly confused.

\--

“You’re in a band, right?” Jace asks, when they’re waiting for the barista to finish making their coffees. He’s leaning against the counter, the picture of cool and calm, two things Simon is definitely not feeling right now. Instead, he feels jittery, like he’s going to vibrate out of his skin any second.

“Yeah,” he says, taking a sugar packet out of the nearest stand and twirling it around in his hands, “It’s just Maureen and I, really, but it’s a lot of fun. We play some small gigs every now and then. I play guitar, and sing, and she plays the keyboard. We sound pretty okay, I think. I mean, we’re probably never going to make it big, but it’s fun to do, at least. It doesn’t help that we change our band name like, every two weeks or so. Right now we’re called Rock Solid Panda, but who knows how long that will last,” Simon snorts to himself, rolling the sugar packet between his fingers. Jace is looking at him with an amused smile on his face, and Simon realizes he’d pretty much started rambling. He tries to turn it around by asking, “Do you, uh, do you play an instrument?”

“Guitar,” Jace says, shrugging, “I sing too.”

“You any good?” Simon asks, as they accept their coffees from the barista and go to take a seat.

“I guess you could say I’m pretty decent,” Jace says, grinning, like there’s an inside joke attached to that Simon doesn’t get. “Do you write your own stuff or is it mostly covers?”

Simon scrunches up his nose, fiddling with his still too hot coffee cup, “As a band, we do mostly covers. I’ve written some stuff but I just… I don’t feel really confident enough in them yet. Like, I guess I’m just kind of scared to share everything I’m feeling and thinking with the world?”

“I get what you mean,” Jace says, taking a sip of his coffee before leaning back in his chair, “Sometimes it’s like, easier to hide, you know? I feel like, when you do a cover, you’re also telling the world how you feel, it’s just more subtle. Really putting yourself out there is terrifying.”

Simon nods, “Yeah, plus I’m pretty sure my stuff fucking sucks,” he says with a laugh.

Jace shrugs, “You don’t know that until you try, really. What kind of music are you into?”

Simon pulls a face, taking a sip of his coffee. “Honestly, what am I not into? I love indie stuff, though. You know, Artic Monkeys, The Wombats, The Smiths. I feel like that’s also more our music style as a band. I do love other music styles too, though. I even like the occasional pop song or ballad,” he laughs, “There was a One Direction phase, a few years ago.”

“I’m afraid I’m guilty of that as well,” Jace says, holding up his hands, “But same, I guess. I like alternative too, little bit of punk here and there. I mostly write slower songs, though. Bit more pop like. For some reason that just fits better with what I write, I think? Plus I like songs that make people happy, you know? Something that will make them smile.”

“Like One Direction,” Simon says, making finger guns at Jace.

Jace laughs, “Yeah, I guess like One Direction. Although they’re not really one of my great inspirations for writing. When it comes to more emotional stuff I really like Keaton Henson. Have you ever heard of him?”

Simon shakes his head, “Nope, no idea.”

“Oh man,” Jace says, leaning forward excitedly, “He has like, these really soft, emotional songs, and you just _feel_ what he’s singing about, you know? Like, I wish is could write like that. Most of his stuff is pretty sad, actually, but it’s almost _magical_. Hey, I have a cd of him, you want to borrow it sometime? I know most people just listen to stuff online nowadays, but I’ve always liked the more genuine experience of listening to a cd,” Jace says with a shrug.

Simon nods, “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’d love to borrow it if it’s no problem?” Jace shakes his head, and Simon glances down at his watch. He nearly spills the remainder of his coffee everywhere when he realizes what time it is, “Shit, I have to go,” he says, hastily getting up and collecting his stuff. “This was fun, though, we should do this again sometime.”

“We should,” Jace says, smiling softly at him. It isn’t until Simon is already halfway across the campus when he realizes they never exchanged phone numbers.

\--

“I’m in love,” Simon declares, as he joins his friends at their table in the library.

“Groundbreaking news,” Raphael deadpans, “Really, I’m shocked. This is too much. I can’t handle the pure surprise that comes with this revelation. I had never expected this. Next you’re going to tell me you’re in love with _Jace_ , of all people. Then my mind will truly be blown.”

“You suck,” Simon informs Raphael, “Anyway, Speaking of Jace, we went on a date yesterday.”

Three pairs of eyes shoot up to look at him. “You did _what_?!” Clary exclaims, earning her a few shushes from students around them.

Simon leans back in his chair, looking all too smug, “Oh now you’re interested all of the sudden, aren’t you? All this time I’m here talking about him and you guys don’t give a shit but _now_ you’re paying attention.”

“Cut the crap, Lewis,” Maureen says, leaning forward on her elbows, “Just tell us what happened.”

“Well, I mean, first of all, _maybe_ it wasn’t technically a date,” Simon says, causing his friends to groan and lean back in their chairs again, “But! There was the _implication_ of a date. He totally flirted with me in class and then offered to buy me a coffee and when I left he agreed we should do it again sometimes so that’s like, that sounds like a date, right?”

Clary pulls a pensive face, “It _does_ sound very date-y. Did you get his number?”

Simon looks a bit sheepish, “I, uh, I forgot?”

“Hopeless,” Raphael tells him, “Absolutely hopeless.”

“But we have a class again next week! And he told me I could borrow one of his cd’s, which among music majors is like, a declaration of love. So I’m pretty sure this is like, actually heading somewhere,” Simon beams.

“That’s good!” Clary tells him, smiling, at the same time Raphael mutters, “Disgusting.”

Maureen groans, “He’s like, only going to write sappy love songs for the band from now on, isn’t he? He’s going to come in to band practice like ‘Look Maureen I have this great song!’ and it’ll be an entire song dedicated to the color of Jace’s eyes.”

“He _does_ have beautiful eyes,” Simon says, slightly dreamy.

“Just make sure to get his number next time, you nerd,” Maureen says, laughing.

Simon grumbles something under his breath, and goes to actually get his homework from his bag. He still has some reading to do, and an essay to work on, so he loads up his laptop while his friends continue to chatter on. He looks around a bit, while waiting for his laptop to start working, and he nearly falls off his chair when his eyes land on someone entering the library.

It’s Jace. He’s wearing a jean jacket, has a pair of sunglasses dangling from his shirt, and his hair is styled in that soft way that makes Simon want to run his hands all through it. He sits down only one table away from where Simon is sitting with his friends, and Simon ducks behind his laptop when Jace’s eyes wander around the room.

He considers telling his friends that Jace is _right there_ , but Jace himself is kind of within ear distance and Simon knows for sure they would probably embarrass the shit out of him, intentional or not, so he keeps quiet and pretends to focus on his essay. Pretend being the keyword.

“Christian Ozera looks so _pretty_ in his new music video,” he hears Maureen gush, and his head shoots up.

“Him again? Seriously?” Simon asks, incredulous.

Raphael snorts, “Could say the same thing about Jace.”

Simon frowns at him, and shoot a quick glance in Jace’s direction to make sure he hasn’t heard. He seems pretty occupied with, well, whatever he’s doing, so he probably hasn’t. Just to make sure Jace has no idea they were sort of maybe talking about him, Simon raises his voice as he says, “Well, I’m sorry, but Christian Ozera kind of sucks.”

Maureen rolls her eyes, “You’re just annoyed because he’s famous and you’re not.”

“Can you blame me?” Simon asks, fully turning towards Maureen, “His music is mediocre and he’s really not _that_ pretty.”

That turns into yet another discussion of the pros and cons of Christian Ozera, and by the time Simon realizes it’s time to leave, and that he’s wasted most of his time arguing about Christian Ozera, he finds Jace is gone. He frown at the empty spot. He’d been planning on walking over to him, asking him for another coffee, maybe, but that will have to wait for another time now.

Simon shrugs, and leaves the library. Maureen follows, humming something that is probably a Christian Ozera song under her breath.

\--

Jace is avoiding him, which is kind of unfortunate. Simon thought their not date the week before had gone pretty well, but clearly not, because when Jace walks into Music Theory that morning, he merely glances at Simon before sitting all the way at the other end of the room. Simon frowns at this, but doesn’t let it bother him. Maybe Jace is just having a bad day.

But then when he tries to catch up with Jace after class, he disappears faster than Simon can say “Jace, wait!”. Simon frowns at the spot Jace was previously occupying, but shakes it off. Maybe Jace was just busy.

He doesn’t see Jace on campus all week, and it is kind of souring his mood. He really thought they had hit it off, but clearly not. Maybe Jace had overheard him in the library after all, and now he thinks Simon is kind of creepy. Simon tries not to let it bother him, but he’s  never really been good at letting things go.

So the next week, when Jace is about to run out of Music Theory as fast as he can again, Simon makes sure to actually stop him, grabbing him gently by the arm. “Jace, wait,” he says, and Jace swivels around, looking slightly pained at having to talk to Simon, which honestly isn’t really promising for the upcoming conversation.

“You, uh.” Now that he actually has Jace in front of him, Simon has no idea what he should actually say. So he just blurts out, “You told me I could borrow that Keaton Henson cd, right?” and mentally slaps himself for it.

“Oh,” Jace says, frowning down at where Simon is still holding onto Jace’s arm. He quickly lets go. “Yeah, sure, let me just,” Jace ruffles through his bag, clearly distracted, and then hands Simon a plastic case, “Bye,” he immediately ads, before disappearing into the crowd.

Okay, so that didn’t really go as planned, Simon thinks, staring down after Jace. But at least he got something out of it, and a reason to talk to Jace again. Plus, if Jace had been carrying the cd around all this time, maybe he didn’t hate Simon after all? Simon sighs, and shoves the cd in his own bag. It might not be what he hoped for, but at least it’s _something_.

\--

The cd turns out to not be of Keaton Henson. The cd is _very much_ not of Keaton Henson. Far from it. Instead, it’s _Christian Ozera_ ’ _s_ _newest album_.

Simon momentarily considers snapping the disk in half, but refrains himself when he remembers that well, he borrowed it, and that would be kind of rude. And oh man, _he borrowed it_. This literal insult to the music industry belongs to _Jace_. The man of his dreams apparently _owns a Christian Ozera cd_. What if he’s a fan too? God, this might actually be the worst day of Simon’s life.

He’s stares at the disk for a really long time, so long that if someone asked him to recite all the songs that are on this album he probably could. And then, with one last glance to Raphael side of the dorm room, which is empty, he makes a decision, and gets the disk out of the plastic case, popping it into his cd player.

One play of the entire album later, Simon has to admit Christian Ozera is actually kind of good. Three more plays later, he kind of has to admit that maybe he actually kind of really _likes_ Christian Ozera’s music. Five more plays, he’s starting to think that maybe Christian Ozera is a musical genius.

Yup, definitely the worst day of his life.

(When he tells his friends about his new found love for Christian Ozera’s music, Raphael accidentally snorts water up his nose and then half laughs half coughs for a good ten minutes, and Clary and Maureen high five each other. “Welcome to the dark side, bro,” Maureen cheerily says. “I’m getting you a Christian Ozera shirt for your birthday,” Clary ads. Simon glares at them. Scratch what he said earlier. _This_ is the worst day of his life.)

\--

Simon actually manages to catch Jace after Music Theory again to give him back his cd a week later. “You, uh, you actually gave me a Christian Ozera cd, instead of Keaton Henson,” he says, holding up the plastic case.

Jace eyes widen, flitting between Simon and the cd, “Oh,” he says, “Sorry, I, uh. Sorry.” He takes the cd from Simon’s hand and quickly shoves it in his bag, digging through it to, what Simon assumes, find the actual cd he meant to hand Simon in the first place.

“It’s okay,” Simon says, “Just between me and you, but I used to kind of really hate Christian Ozera.”

Jace pulls a face at that, “Really,” he says. It sounds pained.

“Yeah,” Simon says, nodding, “But then I actually listened to it, and _wow_ , this guy is actually kind of really good? His songs are like, they really grab you. They’re soft, really, but they have this intensity, this underlying current of _emotion_ that’s just. It’s amazing.”

Jace’s face _lights up_ , and he smiles brightly at Simon, “Really? Wow. Yeah, I uh, I think his music is pretty okay,” he looks bashful now, rubbing the back of his head. Simon has no idea what just happened, but he is 100% going along with it. “Hey, you wanna go grab another coffee?” Jace suddenly asks.

Simon raises his eyebrows in surprise. It seems Jace has made a full one eighty since giving him the cold shoulder for nearly three weeks. If he knew that all it took was admit he liked Christian Ozera, he would have done that way sooner. Or, well. No, he wouldn’t. Not before actually listening to his album and realizing he’s actually kind of a good musician. Honestly, when did all of this become his life. “Yeah,” he says, when he realizes Jace is still looking at him expectantly, “Yeah, I’d love that.”

Jace nods, and walks off. Simon follows him, kind of dazed, but buzzing with energy at the same time.

He never actually ends up getting that Keaton Henson cd.

\--

So Simon and Jace aren’t dating. He thinks. Sure, they go out for coffee together a lot, and they watch movies huddled together on Simon’s tiny dorm bed, and Jace is basically the only person who laughs at his lame jokes, but they’re not _dating_.

“I’m pretty sure you’re dating,” Clary says, from where she’s lying on Simon’s dorm bed.

“Yeah, it’s gross,” Raphael tells him from where he’s sprawled on his own bed across the room.

“I think it’s cute,” Maureen says. She’s sitting across from Simon on the floor, absolutely beating his ass in chess. They’re playing with the customized Pokémon set Clary got him for his birthday last year. She hand made every piece herself.

Simon sighs, “It’s just, it’s confusing, because I’m _pretty sure_ we’re dating, but like, what if I’m wrong? And one day I go to hold his hand or like, _kiss him,_ and he’s just like ‘What the fuck bro, no’ and never talks to me again?”

“I wish you’d never talk to _me_ again,” Raphael says wistfully.

Simon ignores him, “He’s like, he’s so _pretty_ , and I’m _garbage_.”

Raphael’s muttered, “Finally something we agree on,” also gets ignored.

“I don’t think Jace would tell you to fuck off,” Clary says, “I was talking to Izzy the other day and she said Jace was all weird about going to coffee with you. Does that sound like someone who is just interested in being friends?”

“Wow, what, you were talking to Izzy?” Maureen asks, head shooting up to look at Clary, “As in, _Isabelle Lightwood_?”

Clary blushes slightly, “Yeah, we ran into each other in the library a few weeks back and we’ve been talking ever since.”

“Ooooh, does Clary have a _crush_?” Simon asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

Clary laughs, “Maybe. Not as bad as your crush, thought.”

“Which is _never_ going to happen. Unlike you and Izzy,” Simon says, wiggling his eyebrows again, “Anyway, no matter how weird Jace reportedly was about drinking coffee with me, it probably doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he’s just weird about making new friends, who knows?”

“Right,” Raphael says, rolling his eyes.

At that point, their dorm room swings open, and Jace walks in. “Hey guys! What are you talking about?”

“Nothing!” Simon yells, jumping up, before any of his friends can say they were literally just talking about Simon’s massive crush on Jace. They would. “What’s up, why are you here?” Simon doesn’t realize how accusing it sounds until he sees Jace’s smile slightly drop.

“Uh, I thought we were going to study in the library for a bit? You promised me you’d help me with my Music Theory assignment,” he says, fidgeting with the strap of his shoulder bag.

“Of course, of course!” Simon says, gathering his stuff rather frantically, “See you guys later, bye!”

An amused chorus of ‘bye!’ follows him out the room.

\--

“Stop fidgeting,” Jace tells him, not looking up from his laptop. They’re seated in the library, across from each other, and for the past hour they’ve mostly worked on their respective assignments. Simon, however, feels jittery, and can’t seem to sit still. He keeps mulling over the conversation with his friends from earlier. Maybe he should just flat out ask Jace if they’re dating. Or if he wants to date him. He’s scared, though. Scared that Jace will say no, will laugh at him, will never talk to him again.  He’d rather be just friends with Jace for the rest of his life then not have him at all.

“Sorry,” Simon mutters, but his leg can’t seem to stop bouncing upside down. That is, however, until Jace captures his foot with his own feet. Simon freezes, looking up at Jace, who just smirks at him.

“Uh,” Simon says, and then pauses when he realizes he doesn’t really know how to ask ‘why are you caressing my foot between yours’ without it sounding weird, and continuous with, “How are you doing on the assignment?”

Jace pulls a face, “Starting to develop a strong hatred for Jazz. But I guess it’s kind of my fault for picking it as my essay subject.”

“Aw, can’t be that bad, can it?” Simon asks, trying not to focus on the fact that Jace is absentmindedly rubbing one of his feet against Simon’s.

Jace shrugs, “There’s better things I can think of doing right now,” he says, looking intently at Simon, his foot still rubbing against Simon’s, slightly higher now.

Simon wills himself not to blush, looks away, “Great,” he grits out. “That’s, that’s really. _Okay, will you stop doing that._ ” He finally breaks.

Jace raises an eyebrow, “What?”

Simon frowns at him, “You know what. Quit it.”

Jace shrugs again, but finally lets go of Simon’s leg. Simon feels like he can breathe again for the first time in ten minutes. “Hey, what are you doing Friday? Wanna go for dinner? There’s this great new Indian place I want to try out.”

“Friday is obligatory movie night with my friends,” Simon says, “I could do Saturday, though?”

“I can’t Saturday,” Jace says, an expression Simon can’t quite place flashing across his face. “Maybe next week.” He doesn’t comment on it further. Simon tries to not let him bother him, but he can’t help himself. Is Jace going on a date he doesn’t want to tell Simon about? Has he been dating someone this whole time and has it just not come up yet? What is he doing on Saturday that he’s just not telling Simon about?

Simon sighs, and goes back to his assignment. He tries not to miss the feeling of Jace’s leg against his too much, and terribly fails.

\--

“I can’t believe you missed that party on Friday, dude,” Simon says, a few weeks later, from his place on Jace’s bed.

Jace, who is sitting behind his desk flipping through a book, absentmindedly hums. “I had a thing,” he says, scribbling something down in his notebook.

“You always have _things_ ,” Simon says, wrinkling his nose. “Where do you even go when you do these things? It’s like, you just disappear of the face of the earth for a few hours and you never want to tell me where you go. Honestly, what is it that you can’t tell me?”

Jace’s shoulders tense up, “Drop it, Simon. It’s none of your business.”

Simon hears the hostility in Jace’s voice, and decides it’s better to do as Jace says. It doesn’t sit well with him, though. He knows Jace is hiding something from him. It’s not just the fact that he disappears sometimes, usually at night, and never wants to say where he was or where he’s going, it’s also the look he gets on his face sometimes, like there’s something he wants to tell Simon, but refrains at the last moment. It kind of stings, because Simon thought they were close enough to share everything with each other now. But apparently not.

It’s been weird, their friendship, but also kind of really fantastic. Over the past few months, since first meeting, they’ve only grown closer. Clary will always be Simon’s best friend, but Jace is becoming a close second. He’s mostly given up on trying to date him. He’s pretty sure that if Jace was into him, he’d asked Simon out by now. After all, there’s nothing holding him back, and it’s not like Simon has been subtle about being interested. But Jace never bites, and Simon’s decided that that’s fine. Mostly. He just has to get over his massive crush, no big deal.

Jace doesn’t really make it easy, however. Even right now, when he’s just sitting at his desk reading, Simon has the overwhelming urge to just walk over to him and kiss him. Instead of doing that, however, he just looks down at his phone, where Clary is sending him multiple emoji’s that he’s pretty sure mean she just hooked up with Izzy. He smiles.

“Who are you texting?” Jace asks, eyebrow raised, “Girlfriend? Boyfriend?”

Simon snorts, “Why do you immediately assume it’s a potential lover?”

Jace squints his eyes at Simon and gets up from his desk chair, “You’re not denying. So, who is it? That cute girl that stands behind the counter at the coffee shop?” He takes a step closer to the bed. “The guy that’s always staring at you whenever we’re in the library?” Another step. “Or someone you met at the party on Friday.” He slides onto the bed now, slightly closer to Simon then probably necessary. “Tell me.” He says, and Simon flails a little.

“Nothing? I mean, no one!” He stutters out, very unconvincingly, and Jace narrows his eyes.

Then, he shrugs, “Oh, well. Guess I’m just going to have to torture it out of you,” he says, and promptly digs his fingers into Simon’s side.

Simon, who is in fact extremely ticklish, immediately doubles over, “Oh my god, no, Jace, no, _please_ ,” He gasps out between laughs, but Jace is relentless, crawling over Simon and sitting on his legs for better access.

“Just tell me and I’ll stop,” Jace says, skillfully avoiding any attempt Simon makes at tickling him back. When Simon does finally manages to touch Jace’s sides, Jace immediately stops tickling him, grabs his hands instead, and pins them against the mattress above Simon’s head. The motion bring his face alarmingly close to Simon’s, and Simon gulps.

“It uh,” Simon says, voice slightly rough, “It was just Clary. Apparently she hooked up with your sister.”

Jace hums, leaning down so their faces are even closer, his nose brushing against Simon’s. “So no lover, then?”

“No,” Simon breaths out, feeling himself lean up, closer to Jace’s mouth. _Closer, closer, closer._

“Yo, Jace, have you seen- Oh.” Alec pauses in the doorway, taking in the scene in front of him with raised eyebrows.

Simon practically throws Jace off the bed, and then flings himself after it, so they land on the floor in painful tangle of limbs. They quickly get up, Jace groaning loudly in the process, and Simon tries to smooth down his clothes while attempting not to look too flustered. He’s failing, judging the look on Alec’s face. God, if only the earth could swallow him whole right about now.

Jace opens his mouth, probably to explain what was going on, most likely dismiss it all, and Simon can’t hear that right now. So he yells out “Bathroom!” and disappears into the tiny bathroom attached to Jace’s dorm room.

In there, he staggers towards the sink, running his hands under the tap and splashing water in his face in order to try to calm himself down. _He nearly kissed Jace_. And Jace. Jace was going to kiss him back. Jace practically _instigated_ it. Oh god, maybe Jace wanted to date him after all. Simon took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. “You can do it,” he told his reflection, “You can do this. It’s fine. You like him, he _apparently_ likes you back. You can do this.”

He turns back to the door, but the second he’s about to open it, he hears something that makes him stop dead in his tracks.

“You have to tell him you’re Christian Ozera,” Alec says.

It takes a second for Simon to register what he’s hearing. He feels like his world is spinning, his ears ringing, and he can’t move, _cannot move_ ,  just stands there, frozen, listening to the conversation continue behind the door like the floor didn’t just get knocked out from under him.

“I can’t” Jace replies. “I can’t do that. He _likes_ me, Alec. I don’t know if he still will if he finds out that I’m like, the one guy he used to _hate_. I’m pretty sure he only said he likes Ozera now to get closer to me. Which is fine, I don’t mind, but like. I can’t risk to lose him.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Alec says, “He’s going to find out at some point.”

There’s a silence. “I know,” Jace eventually says, “But I just. It’s nice, just being able to be with him and knowing he doesn’t see me as some big shot super star. That’s the reason why I decided to go with a fake identity in the first place. So people could still see the _real_ me. And Simon, he does, you know? He likes me, for me, and I just want to hold on to that a little longer.”

“Your choice,” Alec says, “I just don’t think-“

“Drop it, Alec,” Jace sounds angry now. “Just. He can come back any second. Just drop it.”

Simon, who feels his knees starting to give out just listening to all this, takes a deep breath. Right now, he doesn’t know what to say, or think, so he just pushes the door open, strides right past Jace and Alec, grabs his coat, and heads for the door. “I have to go,” is all he says, and then the door is slamming behind him.

\--

He doesn’t know what’s worse. The idea of Jace being the singer he used to _hate_ , and only recently started to tolerate, Jace knowing it was about him when Simon gushed over Ozera, or that Jace _lied_ to his face this whole time. Actually, no, yeah, that last one is definitely the worst. He really thought Jace and him trusted each other. It just feels wrong that Jace was keeping something _this big_ from him the whole time.

It makes sense, though. It explains why Jace mysteriously disappears every now and then without telling Simon. Why he’s always so secretive about the songs he writes. Why Simon has never heard him sing. It even explains why Jace had been so distant to him when they just got to know each other. He must've overheard Simon bad mouthing Ozera in the library.

God, it’s all just. It’s _weird_ is what it is. Simon thought this kind of shit only happened in movies, not in real life.

He doesn’t really know what to do with this newly found information. He avoids Jace, avoids his friends, and when Raphael corners him in their dorm room and asks him if he’s okay he shrugs him off and says he’s fine. He’s just busy.

Simon feels bad for avoiding them, but he just. He doesn’t know how to deal with any of this. He just needs _time_. Time to think, time to make things make sense again.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get this time. Jace corners him after class not even a week after Simon walked out on him. “You’re avoiding me,” he says, frowning.

Simon glances around. They’re standing in the hallway, but it’s mostly abandoned. Everyone has either gone to class or gone home. Simon wishes he could be one of them. “I was busy,” he says, avoiding eye contact.

“Bullshit,” Jace says, crossing his arms. “Is this about the almost kiss? Because if it is, I’m sorry. I just. I thought you felt the same.” Jace sounds sincere now, but tense, sad. Simon flails a little.

“No, no, no, not at all, I wanted. I wanted to kiss you too. I did feel the same,” he says, and the tension in Jace’s shoulder disappears. Now he just looks sad.

“Then what happened?” He asks, and Simon snaps.

“You didn’t tell me!” He yells, startling both Jace and himself, “You didn’t tell me. You were Christian Ozera this _whole time_ and you _didn’t tell me_.”

Jace’s face pales, “How did you find out?”

“Really?” Simon asks, folding his arms, “That’s what you’re going with? Scared you have a leak? Don’t worry, Jace, your big secret is safe. I heard Alec and you talk right after that… Right after I went to the bathroom last week.” He doesn’t mention the near kiss again.

There’s a silence, “I wanted to tell you,” Jace offers, weakly.

“You told Alec you just wanted to keep this up a little longer. That doesn’t sound like wanting to tell me. That sounds like stringing me along.”

“You don’t know what it’s like!” Jace yells, “You don’t know what it’s like, okay? I’m, I have to be two people at once, all the time, and it’s, _it’s killing me_. When I started this, I just wanted to ensure my privacy, but all this has done is hurt me and I’m _tired_.”

“Then stop!” Simon yells back, “Stop, be your real self!”

“It’s not that easy!” Jace throws up his arms, “But you don’t get that!”

“Oh, what, because I’m not famous? Because I’m not special? Fuck you, Jace!” Simon says, stabbing a finger in Jace’s chest.

Jace groans in frustration. “I’m not _saying_ that! That’s what you make of this! You’re just, you’re not even willing to listen to me! You’re never listening to me!”

A silence falls over them, one in which Simon realizes they’re still on campus, and they’re just yelling at each other, and they’re really getting nowhere like this. All they’re trying to do now is hurt each  other, and they both deserve better. Suddenly, he’s overwhelmed with the need to get _out out out_ of here, heart hammering in his chest and hands shaking.

“You lied to me,” Simon says, a lot calmer then he feels, “That’s. You deliberately kept this from me. And I get that you wanted to protect your identity, and that it was difficult for you too, but you still did it. And I can’t. I need to not be near you, for a while. I need to think. Please just. Please.”

“Simon,” Jace starts, voice soft and eyes pleading.

Simon shakes his head. “Bye Jace,” he says, and then he walks off.

He makes it two blocks before he breaks down crying.

\--

Simon finally tells his friends what’s going on two days later, because he needs them now more than ever. They comfort him, and Raphael very seriously asks Simon if he needs to punch Jace in the face for him, and Simon laughs wetly and tells him that won’t be necessary.

He feels bad, about everything that happened. He was mad, when he confronted Jace, but when he looks back on it, maybe it wasn’t fair to Jace, too. Simon was just angry, and frustrated, and he felt betrayed, and he never once took a step back to really reflect on how Jace might feel. He thinks it’s too late to fix it now, though. When Simon sees him in Music Theory, Jace doesn’t look his way once. Simon tries to do the same, and fails.

Simon misses Jace, is the worst part. He misses his snarky comment and their conversations about music and how he always stole Simon’s food and just his general presence, but he doesn’t know how to fix it. He doesn’t know how to tell Jace that it’s fine, he’s sorry, he didn’t mean anything of what he said, he was just upset.

Instead, he writes it into songs. They’re some of the best he’s ever written, but Simon doesn’t show them to anyone. They feel too personal, mean too much.

Life goes on, Simon definitely _does not mope_ (he does), and nothing much happens in the upcoming weeks. Clary is still dating Izzy, and he’s happy for her. At least some people still have some luck when it comes to love.

\--

Simon doesn’t look up anything regarding Jace or Christian Ozera, and he’s very much planning on keeping it that way when Clary storms into his dorm room one Wednesday afternoon, “Simon, please turn on your radio,” she says.

“Why?” Simon ask, frowning.

“Just, _trust me_ ,” Clary says, with so much conviction that Simon immediately scrambles off the bed to fiddle with the knobs of his radio.

From across the room, Raphael looks up from where he was reading and takes off his headphones, “What’s up?” He asks, when he sees the commotion.

“Get over here,” Clary gestures, “You’re all going to want to hear this.”

When Simon keeps fiddling with the radio dials, without really finding anything, Clary practically pushes him aside and starts turning them on her own, easily finding the right station. “Okay, here we go,” she mutters to herself, and turns up the volume.

Simon, who had been seriously confused before, suddenly feels everything slot into place when the radio DJ announces, “And next, we have our very own Christian Ozera! Christian, how are you?”

It’s Jace. Or, well, it’s Jace as Christian. The guy Simon had been trying so hard to avoid. He wants to reach out to turn off the radio, because he doesn’t want to hear this, no matter what Jace has to say, but Clary stops him. “Trust me,” she mouths, and Simon relents with a sigh.

“I’m good, yeah,” Jace says, and even through the tiny speakers of Simon’s old radio, Simon can immediately tell he’s not. He sounds tense, tired. “I’m actually here for a reason, Jeff,” he continues, and Simon rolls his eyes. Probably a new single or some bullshit.

“Yes!” Apparently Jeff says excitedly, “You’re here to promote your new single, Reprise. Can you tell us something about it?”

“I can,” Jace says, “The single is actually about some things that have recently happened in my own life that I wish I could do over. Like, if I could do it all over there’s so much I’d do differently. I, uh, I sort of lost someone who was really important to me in that period, and Reprise is just kind of about that regret of losing that person, and wishing things would’ve gone differently so they’d still be in my life.”

Simon can only stare blankly at the radio, “Did he,” He starts, and clears his throat, “did he write a song about me?” His voice sounds hoarse. He can see Clary nodding from the corner of his eye.

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” Jeff continues on the radio.

Jace is silent for a bit, “I lied to them. Or well, I kept something pretty big from them. And it made me realize that I’m just, I’m done hiding. I actually, I have something to say, if that’s okay?” Jeff probably nods, because Jace continues, “My name is not actually Christian Ozera. It’s Jace Wayland. I used Christian Ozera as a cover, so I could continue to live my normal life. I still go to college, you see. So I just wanted to be normal. But in the process, I only ended up hurting the people that really matter, and that’s just not worth it. So, yeah. That’s the truth.”

“And on that bombshell,” Jeff says, “Here is Christian Ozera, or should we say Jace Wayland’s, newest single, Reprise!”

The song starts to play, and Simon lets the music wash over him. He barely breaths, in those three minutes, focused on the music and the music only. The song is beautiful, and tugs right at Simon’s heart strings. When it’s over, his opens his eyes, and turns to Clary, “Where is he?” He asks.

Clary looks a bit confused, but says, “He’s probably finishing up at the radio station right now. He should be back at the dorms in roughly an hour.”

Simon nods, and gets up walking to his closet to grab his guitar. “I have to go. I…”

“I get it,” Clary says softly, smiling encouragingly at him.

“Go get him,” Raphael adds, and then Simon is running out of the room as fast as his legs can carry him.

\--

When he reaches Jace’s dorm room, completely out of breath, Jace isn’t there yet. Simon hadn’t expected him to be, though, so it’s fine. He sits down, back against the door, guitar next to him, and waits.

Now he actually has a moment to think about what he’s doing, he suddenly gets nervous. What if Jace doesn’t want him anymore after all? What is he has met someone else in the mean time? What if Reprise wasn’t even about him to begin with and he’s just making a massive ass of himself right now?

He has to give it a shot, though. He has to. He’d never forgive himself if he didn’t at least try to make things right between him and Jace, see if they maybe still have a chance after all.

So when Jace finally walks into the hallway, Simon determinedly gets up, albeit on shaky legs. Jace hasn’t seen him yet, keeps glancing at his phone instead. Simon takes a deep breath. “Hi,” he says, and Jace freezes dead in his tracks.

Jace slowly looks up. “Simon,” he says, clearly dumbfounded, “You’re here.”

“I am,” Simon says, nervously fiddling with the guitar in his hands. “Look, can we talk?” He glances at the students that are roaming the hallways a bit further away from them, “In private?”

Jace nods, pensively, like he still can’t believe Simon is actually there, right in front of him, and then moves to open the door. “Sure, sure, come in,” he mutters, and disappears inside without looking back to see if Simon is following.

Simon’s been in Jace’s room for what feels like a million times before, but it’s never felt so _awkward_. Even the first time he was here he didn’t feel _this_ out of place.

Jace seems uncomfortable too, looking everywhere but at Simon. It’s weird, to see him like this. Normally, Jace always seems so sure of himself, like nothing can hurt him, like nothing can possibly bring him down. Now, he just looks lost.

“I heard you, on the radio,” Simon eventually says, just to break the silence. It doesn’t really help, though. If anything, Jace looks even uncomfortable now. “It was good, the song,” Simon hastily ads, desperate for anything to get some sort of reaction out of Jace.

Jace hums, “It was about you,” he says, so quietly Simon wouldn’t have heard it if it wasn’t for the deafening silence that seemed to be hanging over them.

Simon pretty much knew this already, but it’s nice to hear it confirmed. It gives him the courage what he originally came here to do, the knowledge that maybe Jace feels the same way after all. “I wrote you a song, too,” he says, halfheartedly holding up his guitar. “Well, I wrote you multiple songs, but I think this one sums up what I want to say the best. It’s, uh, It’s not as good as yours, but yeah. Is it okay if I play it for you?”

Jace just nods, unreadable expression on his face.

Simon sits down on the bed, and Jace places himself opposite him on his desk chair. Simon strums his guitar once, and then starts playing, his voice joining in soon after.

He chose one of the happier songs. One he wrote about when Jace and him hadn’t fucked shit up yet, when Simon didn’t know Jace’s ‘secret’ yet, when they were still friends, but in that weird ‘will they won’t they’ phase. There’s a bittersweet edge to the song too, an ode to better times, a silent apology to Jace about all the shit Simon pulled. Simon hopes Jace gets it.

When he finishes, he doesn’t dare to look up at Jace, terrified of what his face will tell Simon. Jace doesn’t speak, either, and the earlier deafening silence returns to the room. But then, suddenly, there’s a hand on his chin, slowly lifting his head. Jace is right in front of him, still with that unreadable look on his face. Then, suddenly, he leans forward, only to softly press his lips against Simon’s.

Simon leans into the kiss almost immediately. It’s a relief, really. A confirmation that they’re going to be okay, that neither of them fucked up shit beyond repair. They’ll have to talk, later, but for now, this is prove that they can work it out, that they are _willing_ to work it out. It’s like all these months have been leading up to this exact moment, this exact kiss, and Simon always thought that if it would happen it would be rough, near violent, but instead it’s soft, gentle, loving.

He ends up pulling away anyway, because Jace is still standing and Simon’s still sitting and the angle is honestly just kind of awkward. “What was that for?” Simon asks, as Jace moves down to sit beside him.

“Your song is good,” is all that Jace says.

Simon snorts, “That’s one hell of a way to let me know.” Jace just smiles. He looks so beautiful like this. Soft and relaxed and smiling. “I’m sorry,” Simon adds, “For freezing you out when I found out you were Ozera. It wasn’t fair of me. I just, I really liked you and I felt betrayed, and I didn’t really realize how stupid I’d been until it was already too late.”

“I’m sorry too,” Jace says, “I should have told you. I was just scared you wouldn’t see me for me anymore.”

“I’ll always see you for you,” Simon pauses, and then grins, before adding, “Which is a massive dork.”

Jace laughs, “Watch it, you. I might reconsider asking you out.”

Simon gasps, “You _wouldn’t_.”

Jace shoves him lightly, and Simon shoves him back, and before they know it they’re play fighting each other, shoving back and forth. Eventually they end up falling backwards on the bed, facing each other.

“So, we’re good?” Simon asks, suddenly feeling unsure.

Jace reassures him immediately, smiling fondly, “More than good,” he says.

“Cool,” Simon mutters, and then, “So that kissing from earlier, was that a onetime thing, or-“

Simon doesn’t even get to finish his sentence, because Jace is already leaning forwards, softly pressing their lips together.

If you’d told Simon months ago he’d end up kissing Christian Ozera, he would have laughed in your face. Now, however, after everything that has happened, he gladly kisses back.

(A few weeks later, when Jace is playing a gig, as himself now, Simon shows up in a Christian Ozera t-shirt. Clary and Izzy made it for him. It has sparkles, and when Jace sees it, he laughs so hard he nearly falls over.)

 

**Author's Note:**

> folow me on tumblr [here](http://aleclwb.tumblr.com) :)


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